About Me

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

With a relatively recent release of a solo album, Carl Barat is offering you the chance to win a rest for your cheeks next Monday 21st March. With no question, no payment required, it is a means for the honest ,( maybe slightly poor) fan to experience a close session with him. The location is unconfirmed but the way to win is very simple

Send an e-mail to : FAN.SUPPORT@PIAS.COM

The e-mail should simple consist of a reason why you think you should be there, pro tip : don't beg and use sob stories, i am sure everyone is, even I stumbled a few desperate pleas in mine but i woke this morning with a feeling of slight regret for doing so . Best of luck.

These guys have been recently touring the UK promoting their latest release 'Blessed and Cursed', playing from up North to down South , i had the upmost pleasure of seeing them at one of their final gig at the Camden Underworld in London Town. With most support spots taken up by 'Feed The Rhino' ( deservedly) the tour was a highly anticipated one . DSHS, in my eyes, is a progressive/semi-hardcore act, but genre terms are so loose these days its hard to pin point the exact correct terminology but i feel an uprising in a new field of music is in the woodworks from bands in this category.

Feed The Rhino was an artist i knew nothing about, but their presence on stage told me they had done this before, the matching black vests and almost compulsory sleeves would indicate certain closet agreements were done pre tour life. But disregard that, it's about the music,and these guys worked the crowd. There was a presence of FTR fans already present , the sound they provided was entirely head bang worthy if not further body movement . There were signs of excellence amongst the tightness they had amongst each other, and it must be stated they even though their drummer was hidden in the dingy corner of the Camden Underworld his presence was definately felt and i commend him on his efforts. My only complaint regarding FTR was that of a samey vibe throughout their setlist, each song was not indistinguishable from the other . But this perhaps due to the not ideal sound system the venue hosts. I can imagine these guys doing well in many smaller festivals this summer , maybe watch out on the phlegming on the audience would be one tip i gave, it wont always be 14 year olds that they land upon. But i would rate these 4/5 For sure. And as i was entirely clueless regarding who they are beforehand it is a strong rating, the performance was enough to engrave a clear memory .

This was the first time i had witnessed DSHS headline, always just under the main acts at all the festivals and gigs i had been to in the last year or so. With a new intro sound clip leading into Tides which worked quite elegantly and presenting their new bassist 'Jozef Norocky' who seemed to fit into his role quite nicely. Richard Chapple seemed in awe whilst playing throughout, Ed Gibbs was endlessly thanking the crowd and was ecstatic throughout. The performance included mainly of B&C but a off the earlier releases got the crowd moving even more so, with the classic ' Like it's your last' and 'Hope' as a finale , i don't think anyone could have argued the set list ( even though i believe hope was a shortened version, could be wrong).
The thing about devil is it's progressive, and i note that when they perform , most people around me are in their own place enjoying the experience in a individual way. I can't stop to guess what goes through their mind with the sounds and lights they see but i know what goes through mine,epic scenarios usually depicting the end of the world work quite well to DSHS songs.